NJ to Honor Vietnam Green Beret

Flags will be lowered to half-staff Thursday on New Jersey state buildings in honor of a Green Beret soldier whose remains were recently found in Vietnam.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Gunther Wald was killed along with two other soldiers during a Special Forces reconnaissance patrol in November 1969, the Newark Star-Ledger reported Wednesday.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, acting as governor while Chris Christie is in Tampa for the Republican National Convention, issued an executive order calling for the Palisades Park native to be honored across the state.

According to the Star-Ledger, the two other soldiers whose remains were found with Wald's have been identified as Army Sgt. 1st Class William T. Brown, 24, of La Habra, Calif., and Sgt. 1st Class Donald M. Shue, 20, of Kannapolis, N.C.

According to the army’s POW/Missing Personnel Office, the three men were on patrol with six Vietnamese soldiers near the Vietnam-Laos border when they were ambushed. Weather conditions and enemy forces, though, prevented a rescue operation for more than a week.

The remains of Wald and his comrades will be buried in a single grave at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, with full military honors.